Trump: ‘Massive Armada’ Heading to Iran; Fed Holds Rates Steady | NTD Evening News (Jan. 28)

Welcome to NTD Evening News, our top story tonight, President Trump with a harsh warning for Iran. Well, back in Washington, the president headlines a star-studded event to launch the Trump Accounts Initiative. Mari Otsu with the details. President Trump warns Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey following a comment Frey made on immigration enforcement in the city. Jason Blair has the details. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the Venezuelan regime is open to cooperating to counter the Luis Martinez has more on what Rubio told senators on Capitol Hill today. Both President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are praising the progress in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. Arian Pondstar brings us the latest on the peace efforts by the U.S. Presidents line the streets of Israel as the final hostage is laid to rest. Meanwhile, Hamas documents are revealed showing the terrorist group has no plans to disarm or give up its power. Jason Perry reports. This is NTD Evening News, live from our global headquarters in New York City. Here's Tiffany Meyer. Good evening and thank you for joining us tonight. The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady after announcing its policy decision today, a pause that investors believe could extend through the spring. Fed Chair Jerome Powell didn't rule out future cuts, but indicated no immediate plans for them. Recent data shows the U.S. economy remains resilient. The unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in December, even as job growth slowed. While inflation has decreased, it remains above the 2 percent target. President Trump has called for sharper rate cuts. Trump also commented on the status of the U.S. dollar yesterday, saying it's quote, doing great. Secretary of State Marco Rubio testified before the Senate on the U.S. involvement in Venezuela. Lawmakers also pressed the National Security Advisor on several crises worldwide. Our Washington correspondent, Louise Martinez, has the details. I certainly agree with the chairman in terms of his comments relative to Nicolas Maduro. He was bad for Venezuela, he was bad for the region, and he was bad for the United States. President Trump's actions against narco-terrorists and his capture of Maduro have made America safer. Every American should be thanking Donald Trump and Marco Rubio for what they have done. Democrat and Republican senators applauded the Trump administration's execution of Operation Absolute Resolve, which resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. For the first time in 20 years, we are having serious conversations about eroding and eliminating the Iranian presence, the Chinese influence, the Russian presence as well. Secretary Rubio outlined a process of political stabilization that would culminate in the transition to put to an end the regime in Venezuela and restore democracy. We are dealing with people over there that have spent most of their lives living in a gangster paradise. And we are certainly better off today in Venezuela than we were four weeks ago. And I think and hope and expect that we'll be better off in three months and six months and nine months than we would have been had Maduro still been there. Senators also pressed Secretary Rubio on the Trump administration's stance towards NATO. And I'm asking you to do everything you can to reinforce our commitment to NATO. NATO needs to be reimagined as well in terms of the obligations. This is not new to this president. Multiple presidents have complained about it. I think this president just complains about it louder than other presidents. And one of the things we've explained to our allies in NATO is the United States is not simply focused on Europe. We also have defense needs in the Western Hemisphere. We have defense needs in the Indo-Pacific. Secretary Rubio warned the Iranian regime against future crackdowns against protesters and urged the regime to commit to political and economic reform. The protests may have ebbed, but they will spark up again in the future because this regime, unless they are willing to change and or leave, have no way of addressing the legitimate and consistent complaints of the people of Iran who deserve better. It is important to note that after Operation Absolute was solved, crucial Venezuelan oil shipments to the communist Cuban regime have stopped. And after the Trump administration applied pressure on the Mexican government, Mexican oil shipments have been canceled to the communist Cuban regime as well. Reporting from Washington, D.C., Luis Eduardo Martinez, NTD News. The U.S. continues efforts to end the fighting between Russia and Ukraine. Both President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are praising the ongoing progress. NTD's international correspondent, Ariane Pazdar, has more. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted this video on Exxon Wednesday, praising post-war recovery plans that are being developed with the U.S. Zelensky says work with the American side is progressing actively. I thank the envoys of the President of the United States for their constructive approach in the negotiations. Just on Tuesday, President Trump also praised the progress that's being made to end the Russia-Ukraine war. We're looking at some very good things happening on Ukraine and Russia, very good things. Very good things are happening on Ukraine and Russia. And the Kremlin on Wednesday, saying Zelensky is being invited to visit Moscow for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. We have never declined and will not decline such contacts. The main thing is that these contacts are well prepared. If Zelensky is truly ready for a meeting, we invite him to Moscow and guarantee his safety. The Kremlin official added that Putin already discussed the possible meeting with Zelensky during phone calls with Trump. Meanwhile, the fighting in Ukraine continues. Ukrainian officials report strikes on various cities across the country. A monastery in Odessa came under attack on Wednesday. Another attack also damaged port infrastructure in the Odessa region. Officials say three people were hurt in the strikes. And in Kiev, a couple died in an overnight attack. According to Zelensky, the couple was at home with their daughter during the attack. A four-year-old child was rescued. I want to thank Marian Kushner, a journalist at Radio Liberty, a war correspondent who acted courageously and saved this little girl. And six more people are reported injured in the Ukrainian city of Saporizhia, with one being hospitalized. Ukraine's military says Russia attacked with one ballistic missile and almost 150 drones. Ariane Pastor, NTD News. Residents in Israel shared mixed emotions as they attended the funeral for the final hostage returned from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, Israel said they have obtained Hamas documents that say the terrorist group has no plans to disarm or give up its power. NTD's Jason Perry has the details. Residents in Israel lined the streets on Wednesday as the body of the final hostage was brought to its final resting place. Israeli police officer Ron Gavilli was killed while fighting terrorists during the Hamas attack on October 7th. And according to Israeli officials, members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad had taken Gavilli's body back to the Gaza Strip. Gavilli's parents spoke at his funeral. On that darn day, I imagined you looking into my eyes and telling me, do you hear? You're not going to cry. You're proud. You're proud. I'm so proud to be your father and I miss you every second, every second and every minute. I love you. We love you and we miss you. Thank you all for the honor you show us. This honor is for him, not for us. Thank you. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also attended the funeral and he said, quote, It's not the end yet and that Israel will demilitarize the Gaza Strip and disarm Hamas. On the same day, Hamas police were seen directing traffic in Gaza City as it reasserts its authority in the territory. And in an effort to disarm the Iran-backed group, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Mike Waltz, announced a weapons buyback program that would be internationally funded. But will Hamas give up their weapons? Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Dannen, said he doubts they will. But don't just take Israel's vote for it. Hamas put this in writing. And he said he had a manifesto that Hamas released last month. In this document, it says very clearly it rejects disarmament. It rejects giving up political power. And in another development, the United States is apparently keeping a close eye on the upcoming elections in Iraq. President Trump posted on Truth Social that if former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is elected, then the U.S. will, quote, no longer help Iraq. Trump added that under al-Maliki's former leadership, the country, quote, descended into poverty and total chaos. Al-Maliki, who was recently nominated by the country's dominant political party, responded by saying, quote, we reject the blatant American interference in Iraq's internal affairs and consider it a violation of its sovereignty. Jason Perry, NTV News. President Trump warning Iran that time is running out to strike a nuclear deal. And in Washington, the Treasury Department is hosting a star-studded event to launch the Trump accounts initiative. We now go live to NTV's Washington correspondent Mari Otsu, who was at the summit today. Mari, good evening. Tiff, good evening. President Trump today is warning Iran to make a nuclear deal, threatening that its next attack will be, quote, far worse if it doesn't. The president urging that, quote, time is of time is running out, that it is truly of the essence. Tehran then responding, saying with a threat to strike back against the U.S., Israel and other groups that support them. And this is coming as the president has repeatedly vowed to intervene if Iran continues to kill its protesters. Take a look. And in June, we obliterated Iran's nuclear capacity in Operation Midnight Hammer. You saw that. And they were about a month away from having a nuclear weapon. We had to do it. And by the way, there's another beautiful armada floating beautifully toward Iran right now. So we'll see. He warns that the fleet headed toward Iran is larger than the one that was sent to Venezuela and says it's ready to rapidly fulfill its mission. Meanwhile, a day after hitting the road to tout his economic agenda in Iowa, President Trump's headlining a summit in Washington to formally launch what he calls one of the most transformative policy innovations of all time. We're going to put three to four trillion dollars of wealth into the hands of young Americans who otherwise would have really started out with nothing. For the first time ever, we're going to give every newborn American child a financial stake in the future, head start life and a fair shot at the American dream. With these Trump accounts, the federal government deposits one thousand dollars for eligible babies born between twenty twenty five and twenty twenty eight with tax free growth until withdrawn at age 18 when the account will function like a traditional IRA Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase pledging to match that one thousand dollar contribution to their employees while the president celebrates today's surge in stocks. And just this morning as I'm running out, I see the S&P 500 hit seven thousand for the first time ever. The answer to more socialism is more capitalism. This makes every child in America a capitalist from birth. The star studded event, including rapper Nicki Minaj, announcing she'll contribute hundreds of thousands to fund her fans, Trump accounts and investor Kevin O'Leary, among other Wall Street giants, joining a growing list of those matching deposits. I am probably the president's number one fan. He has a lot of force behind him and God is protecting him. Amen. I really think that this is how a country heals itself when it's broken and when Social Security is being questioned and the future of it being questioned. Rebecca Lichtwerk, chair of Moms for America, sharing personal testimony on what the accounts mean to her as a mother, alongside Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt and actress Cheryl Hines. This investment in their future is hope. It is it touches my heart that he's doing this because he understands what the important what it will do for their future. And God has him in this place. He's given President Trump the ability to understand all of these issues in the homes in America. And he's doing this for us. And it's an absolute blessing. The accounts themselves are set to go live this summer with contributions formally starting on July 4th, the 250th anniversary of America. Tiff, back to you. All right, Mari, thanks for those updates. President Trump tells Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye that he's, quote, playing with fire after Frye says his city won't enforce federal immigration laws. This as the FBI names a suspect who allegedly shot at Border Patrol agents yesterday in Arizona. Entity correspondent Jason Blair has more. President Trump reacted to a statement by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frye on Tuesday. Trump saying, surprisingly, Mayor Jacob Frye just stated that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws. This is after having had a very good conversation with him. Could somebody in his inner sanctum please explain that this statement is a very serious violation of the law and that he is playing with fire? Frye's comment came after he had just met with White House Border Czar Tom Homan regarding immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis. Frye said, I reiterated that my main task is for Operation Metro Surge to end as quickly as possible. And then later, I also made it clear that Minneapolis does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws and that we will remain focused on keeping our neighbors and streets safe. After Trump's post, Frye responded within the hour saying the job of our police is to keep people safe, not enforce federal immigration laws. I want them preventing homicides, not hunting down a working dad who contributes to Minneapolis and is from Ecuador. Everyone should feel safe calling 9-1-1. White House rapid response responded. No one is asking you to enforce federal immigration laws. We're just asking you to honor ICE detainers and let them know when criminal illegal immigrants are in your jail so they can safely pick them up and deport them. President Trump sent Tom Homan to Minnesota on Monday to start dialogues with leaders to address ongoing tensions involving ICE operations. And the FBI names a suspect involved in a shooting with Border Patrol agents in rural Arizona on Tuesday. It involves an individual who was involved in human trafficking from an earlier incident. They recognized his vehicle, made a traffic stop. Authorities say the suspect fled on foot and then started shooting at a Border Patrol helicopter. The subject continued to flee on foot while being pursued by CBP agents who returned fire. The subject was shot. Patrick Gary Schlegel, age 34 and a resident of Arizona, is currently in federal custody. Schlegel is currently recovering after being treated for his injuries. No one else was injured in the incident. In this case, we believe our agent in USBP, that agent acted lawfully. Jason Blair, NTD News. And Attorney General Pam Bondi says 16 people were arrested in Minnesota today for allegedly assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement. Bondi says she expects more arrests to follow. Does Minneapolis Mayor Frye have grounds for not cooperating with federal authorities on immigration law or is he playing with fire, as Trump says? Hear from former attorney for President Trump, Jim Trustee, tonight on Capitol Report with Steve Lance at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Coming up, Dr. Mehmet Oz and California Governor Gavin Newsom exchange barbs over alleged health care fraud in Los Angeles. Arlene Richards has more on the dispute. And one year after the Palisades fire, new testimony raises serious questions about leadership, water failures and missed warnings. Christina Corona reports on what officials say went wrong and who could be held accountable when we come back. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Dr. Mehmet Oz says that Los Angeles is at the center of billions of dollars in hospice and home care fraud. His statements drawing a sharp response from California Governor Gavin Newsom. Entities Arlene Richards has more. So you can see these are medical buildings. The administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, said in a video on Tuesday that Los Angeles County is what he called an epicenter for health care fraud in America. Oz attributes the fraud to the Russian and Armenian mafia, who he said seemed to have taken over the system. In this four block area in Los Angeles, there are 42 hospices. So either there are a lot of people dying here or you've got a fraudulent activity that is so good that everyone wants to get in on it. This is an organized crime mafia deal where you've got folks who have systemically recruited doctors to write false prescriptions. Governor Gavin Newsom's office hit back Tuesday, saying, quote, Amazing to watch Dr. Oz play as a fraud fighter for an effort the state launched years ago. The video comes three weeks after Oz and the Justice Department announced a federal investigation into medical fraud in California. The U.S. attorney, the FBI, everyone's now focused on the fact that in this state, which has about 30 billion dollars worth of home and community based services, most of it might be fraudulent. Meanwhile, Newsom's office has said that he signed legislation in October 2021 to curb medical fraud and abuse, particularly in the hospice industry, which came after a Los Angeles Times investigation reported what it called widespread fraud and abuse in the California hospice industry. Oz said President Trump is not going to tolerate fraud in California anymore. Unfortunately, in California, there has not been a lot of attention on these problems. That's going to change. Arlene Richards, NTD News. One year after the devastating Palisades fire, lawmakers are demanding accountability. A Senate investigation is now examining leadership decisions, water failures and whether warning signs were missed. And it's Christina Corona. It's been more than a year since the Palisades fire devastated parts of Southern California and lawmakers are demanding answers. A Senate committee is investigating what went wrong in November. Senator Rick Scott toured the burn zone and described the destruction. I went down to see the Palisades and I was I was just shocked. I mean, there there was just a I mean, block after block, there was nothing. There's burnt out homes block and there was nothing happening. And the fire broke out. Fire hydrants are dry. How in God's green earth could that happen? It wasn't firefighters did that. The reservoirs were empty. The mayor was missing in action. Fire officials testified the Palisades fire may have been preventable. The fire that began on January 1st, known as the Lockman fire, was never fully extinguished. It became a holdover fire, a well-known and predictable hazard. Another major focus was water infrastructure. Testimony revealed at least one key reservoir set empty for 11 months. Who missed it? Again, it was missed on both. It was missed on multiple fronts. It was missed by the Department of Water themselves by not being able to state that they have reservoirs empty. It was missed by the fire department by not asking the questions. Are all systems online? It was asked. It was missed by the other the Southern California Edison. All of the utility companies should be coming together, having this conversation. Witnesses also criticized leadership decisions, including the lack of pre deployed fire resources. Crawford said the after action report was intentionally softened and failed to identify who made the decision not to pre deploy fire engines. The main part of this investigation is to expose what happened, name names, identify the incompetence so it doesn't happen again. However, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal urged the federal government to release more disaster aid. Last month, Governor Gavin Newsom requested thirty three billion dollars in federal funding for Los Angeles wildfire recovery. Officials say this will be an ongoing investigation. Christina Corona, NTD News. Coming up, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer kicking off his first official visit to China. This is pressure mounts over the communist regime's spy activities and human rights violations. The Pentagon is rolling out Cybercom 2.0 to outpace China. But with Chinese hackers already infiltrating U.S. critical infrastructure, is it enough? Senators on Capitol Hill are probing for answers. That and more when we return. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. New efforts to supercharge America's cyber defenses are underway at the Pentagon today. Senators on Capitol Hill examine the revised cyber force generation model designed to counter threats from China. And it is Washington correspondent Jack Bradley. Ask the details. The future of war is going to be cyber. The Chinese have executed a deliberate campaign in order to compromise U.S. networks. The Pentagon is stepping up its cyber force plan in the face of rising threats from China. The Senate Armed Services Cybersecurity Subcommittee held a hearing on Wednesday probing what the department calls Cybercom 2.0. We're treating a cyber capability just like we would a kinetic capability. We're not sprinkling cyber on. We are integrating cyber operations into the joint force commander's plan. This follows Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's major announcement last December to emphasize cybersecurity in the military. We're also rapidly strengthening our nation's ability to deter and defend against cyber attacks on Department of War and dual use targets, including through the most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. Cyber Command since it was started 15 years ago. The plan shifts away from traditional service models and integrates the U.S. Cyber Command more closely with the military branches. And the urgency is clear. Chinese state sponsored hackers like we saw with the volt and salt typhoons over the past couple of years continue to infiltrate U.S. critical infrastructure. That means power grids, water systems and telecommunications networks. They use stealthy tactics to hide in plain sight. Over the past few years, campaigns linked to the Chinese Communist Party have targeted U.S. telecoms and transportation and foreign adversaries like China and Russia and Iran. They're probing and testing and challenging our systems, I would say by the nanosecond, not even enough to say daily, every single second. They're seeking any opportunity they can to degrade our command, control, disrupt our operations, steal our most sensitive information. Our adversaries are using the cyber domain as part of their multifaceted campaigns to degrade U.S. and allied interests. Threats in cyberspace are currently growing faster than we can scale our actions. And Cyber Command is already proving its value. They play key roles in operations like Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve, which saw the decimation of Iran's nuclear sites and contributed to the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. And what CyberCom 2.0 is really going to bring is advanced and specialized training that will allow us to both compete and really plan to outpace China. As Chinese cyber threats grow more aggressive, the Pentagon says that CyberCom 2.0 is no longer optional. It's essential to winning the next war before it starts. Reporting by Jack Bradley, NTD News. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer kicking off his first ever visit to communist China alongside an entourage of business leaders. This comes as concerns mount over the Chinese Communist Party's espionage activities and its repression of human rights. NTD's Sam Wong has the details. They say that eight days is a long time in politics. Try eight years. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrived in Beijing on Wednesday for a three day state visit. He's the first UK prime minister to go to China since Theresa May in 2018. The communist regime is considered a major trading partner for the United Kingdom. But that relationship soured in recent years due to concern about espionage, Beijing's support for Russia in its war with Ukraine and the regime's repression of pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong. Traveling with a delegation of business leaders, Starmer is slated to visit Shanghai and meet with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping. Of course, we will have to manage our differences, but that's what you do with a mature, consistent, comprehensive and strategic approach to China. We manage our differences. We take our opportunities and we constantly think, how does this deliver for people back at home? Aside from building ties with China, Starmer is coming under pressure to help secure the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai, a former media tycoon and one of Hong Kong's most prominent pro-democracy figures. Lai was arrested in 2020 by CCP authorities and is facing a potential sentence of life in prison. It is outrageous that any British prime minister should go to Beijing whilst a British citizen is incarcerated, languishing along with many pro-democracy campaigners in jails in Hong Kong and in mainland China. And just shortly before Starmer's China visit, the UK government approved a new supersized Chinese embassy in central London. That's despite pressure from lawmakers over national security concerns. The decision drew protest, with critics warning the embassy could be used as a CCP outpost to intimidate and spy on Chinese dissidents in exile. This site will accommodate hundreds more Chinese state employees. We know what that means. More interference, more influence operations and more intimidation of people like me. Meanwhile, a recent report by The Telegraph says a Chinese spying operation has been hacking the phones of senior UK officials for years. Ahead of Starmer's visit, more than a dozen organizations issued a joint letter urging the prime minister to raise the issue of forced organ harvesting. It's a crime committed by the CCP against prisoners of conscience, including groups like Falun Gong practitioners and the Uyghur ethnic minority. When asked whether he would raise human rights issues with Beijing, Starmer did not go into specifics, but said that he would, quote, raise the issues that need to be raised. Sam Wong, NTD News. Joining us now to unpack Starmer's visit to China and more is Irish entrepreneur and businessman Declan Ganley. He's a friend of imprisoned Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai. Declan, thank you so much for joining us. Great to have you here. Now, Starmer's China visit comes less than two months after a Hong Kong court convicted Jimmy Lai. I know you're good friends with him. Starmer said he'll, quote, raise issues that need to be raised. How important is it that he push for Jimmy Lai's release during this trip? Well, it's extraordinarily important that there are a number of backdrops to the Starmer visits. One is last week's approval of the mega embassy, the Chinese mega embassy in London in the old Royal Mint building and site was a massive concession to communist China. And it's something that a lot of people are very upset about in Great Britain. Of course, the new revelations that have just come out about the salt typhoon spying, the hacking of phones of leaders in number 10 Downing Street over the last several years. It's very, very serious. And frankly, in the context of these things, diplomatically speaking, the release of British citizen Jimmy Lai so that he can go back to the UK and be given his freedom after this torture that he's been put through of solitary years of solitary confinement of being denied his religious rights while in prison, denied to be able to practice his faith and do other things, not to even mention the trumped up charges and the farcical trial process to release Jimmy back to the UK is the absolute minimum that should be expected from this visit. And I hope to see Jimmy returned to his family and returned to the country of his citizenship as a result of this visit. It should have happened a long time ago. And if Jimmy's case doesn't get brought up, would that tell you something about where relations are headed between the two countries? Is the UK perhaps softening its security concerns around China and failing to stand by its side? I find it I find it difficult to believe that it wouldn't be brought up as a major issue. And if it wasn't brought up, if it isn't brought up, there are enormous questions to be asked as to why. And it would mark a really a crossing of a Rubicon in terms of Britain not being willing to stand up for the most basic rights of its citizens in a jurisdiction where the agreement that communist China entered into for the handover of handover of Hong Kong has long since been cast aside and underlines to me and underlines to people in Britain and all around the world that China cannot be trusted, that it will not be good to its word, and that when it was willing to tear up the and disregard the agreement that it set in place with Britain for the handover of Hong Kong, why would it not? Why would it risk? How could it be expected to respect any other agreement? As to the mega embassy, as you mentioned earlier, Stalmer is saying that it is in our national interest to engage with China, adding that the relationship brought huge opportunities. Many say that this China trip was dependent on that recent approval of that mega embassy in central London, which human rights activists are up in arms about. What concerns does that embassy raise for you? Well, I mean, they've been being widely reported, but for example, the site is in the city of London, which is the the the financial capital of one of the key financial capitals of the world. And the activity that goes on there, it's been very widely reported, the vital communications cables that passed through that site and under that site, the proximity to key infrastructure to one of the world's most important financial capitals is alarming. And the fact that you are going to have a concentration of communist Chinese activity in that location is something that has caused great alarm for for for those that have been observing this. Now, the and then on the back of this, the revelations in the British newspapers, in the Daily Telegraph and others yesterday and today of the hacking of senior figures at number 10 Downing Street at the top levels of British government is again, a cause for grave concern. And people may say, well, we know that they do this anyway. And it's something, indeed, that I've said on on your own TV channel in previous years, going back to 2019 and even earlier, that this is something that was going on and would be going on. We can't keep rewarding it. The communist China has denuded the West and Britain. It's paid a large part in denuding it of industrial capacity and might. Great Britain was once the workshop of the world that has now moved to communist China. And I think that the continuation of policies that reward communist China and continue to shift manufacturing and industrial capacity to China and out of places like Great Britain, I think, and of course, Europe and indeed the United States, these are these have done enormous damage to Western capacity, to our national security, to our economy, to our economic interests. And this has to stop. Well, Declan Ganley, thank you so much for joining us. Thank you. Coming up, Amazon is laying off thousands of corporate employees. This comes as A.I. reshapes the tech industry. David Lamb reports. And the NFL reactions from players after Bill Belichick is reportedly denied by the Hall of Fame. Dave Martin joins us to discuss. And NTD's International Photography Competition is in New York City this week, celebrating both photography as an art form and traditional values. Flora Hua brings us a look at the finalists' work after the break. Welcome back. I'm Tiffany Meyer. And one of NTD's exclusive arts and culture events is happening right now. The NTD International Photography Competition is exhibiting its finalists' works this week at New York City's Salma Gandhi Club. The competition celebrates traditional values and the aesthetics of photography, with works showcasing luminosity, kindness and naturalism. Photographers around the world submitted their works. NTD's Flora Hua was there for the opening day. And here's the story. When was the last time you saw a picture so beautiful that you wanted to save it as your wallpaper? Truly beautiful and powerful visual art can touch our heart and connect us. I certainly had many moments like that while walking through the finalists' exhibition of NTD's Photography Competition. Let's take a look. NTD's Photography Competition has two categories, social relations and humanity, as well as nature and landscape. I think good photography, you know, right now we have a lot of division in the world where we are failing to see the common humanity in each other. And if we can just remember that we're all created, you know, by by a creator who loves all of us the same, if we can see that in each other, it will begin to bring us back together instead of growing further apart. Gina Pottinger is a professional photographer with a 25-year career, and this is the first time she ever took part in a competition. I think this is an incredible event. I thank the Epoch Times and NTD for putting it on. Seriously, this is a goldmine for the city of New York. James Azzare from Kansas City, Missouri, loved this exhibition. He shared with us the story behind his photograph, a village in France called Recommodore. So you know that when you go there, it's a true secluded town and it has a very special religious connotation, the people that live there. People still go there just to pray. Adrian Yu from Hong Kong wanted to share the values that he has been practicing for nearly three decades, truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. They're the core tenets of Falun Gong, a spiritual discipline rooted in the Buddhist tradition. What I want to express is that this world needs truthfulness, compassion and forbearance. We see that today's world is full of turbulence and insecurity, and in some places there is even chaos. If truthfulness, compassion and tolerance were promoted in the world, not limited to a single group or a single country, but practiced by all humanity, with everyone striving to be a good person, then perhaps the disorder in the world would gradually subside and people could coexist more peacefully and joyfully in this world. The exhibition is taking place throughout the week, with the award ceremony scheduled this Thursday. Flora Hua, NTD News. In the latest round of company layoffs, Amazon is letting go thousands of employees. Part of the reason, it says, is to streamline its corporate structure. NTD's David Lam reports. Amazon says it's cutting 16,000 jobs at the corporate level. The company says it sent a message to employees on Wednesday. A senior vice president said that the company has been working to strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy. Future reductions may be possible, as she said some teams will continue to make adjustments as appropriate. This comes as the tech industry as a whole has been restructuring on a broad scale. These job cuts affect nearly 10 percent of Amazon's corporate employees. Amazon says U.S.-based employees are offered 90 days to look for a new role internally. Otherwise, they'll receive support, including severance pay. On Tuesday, the company said it was closing its remaining Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go markets. This round of job cuts is the latest since Amazon cut 14,000 roles in October. It cited artificial intelligence and changing corporate culture among the reasons. Tech companies like Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have been restructuring after they ramped up hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic. David Lamb, NTD News, California. And now for your sports news, we're joined by NTD's Dave Martin. Dave, we've got tennis, golf and college football news, but let's start in the NFL as Tom Brady has joined the list of those questioning the reported voting to not elect former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to the Hall of Fame. What's going on here? I think that's what everyone wants to know at this point, really. Bill Belichick, he's the most decorated coach in NFL history. He's won six Super Bowls. No one else has won four. He's got three hundred and thirty three career wins, that's playoffs and regular season. Only Don Shula has more wins. I could go on for his accolades. Now, on the other hand, though, he was implicated in the sign stealing scandal back in 2007 after the Patriots were found to have been filming defensive signals from the New York Jets. The Patriots were docked a first round pick and had to pay a $500,000 fine. So maybe there's some resentment for that from some of his peers. We don't really know. But this report that he fell just short of the Hall of Fame voter on his first try was reported yesterday by ESPN, but has yet to be confirmed. Now, Tom Brady was pretty stung by the voting saying, you know, he doesn't understand, you know, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes weighed in as well. J.J. Watt, former NFL defensive star, pretty much they all are confused about it. But Belichick will still would still be eligible for the Hall of Fame next year. But there is certainly a prestige making it on your first ballot. It can be called the first ballot Hall of Famer. But I guess that's not going to happen. All right. Well, name that makes sense. They're looking at college football news, though. Yesterday, we discussed former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah being allowed to enter the transfer portal after agreeing to a settlement with the school. What is the latest here? Has he picked the school? Yeah. Mensah told on three dot com that he is committed to Miami. Now, that's not really a surprise. The Hurricanes were kind of rumored to be the team he was heading to when news broke, you know, around the time where he wanted to enter the transfer portal, which is about a week and a half ago. Now, I don't think it's any surprise that Mensah makes Miami really instant title contenders again this year. He was arguably the top quarterback to enter the transfer portal. And this is the third straight season that Miami has got a big time quarterback in the transfer portal. They got Carson Beck last year and then Cam Ward the year before. Ward ended up being the first pick in the NFL draft. Now, meanwhile, Mensah is going to have to face Duke next season, though both these teams play in the ACC. Duke will will face Miami on November 14, but it will be in Miami. But that could be kind of interesting, I would think. If there's any bad blood. Yeah, I would I would mention I would think there may be a little bit, even though they don't want to admit it. Well, moving to golf news, former Masters champion Patrick Reid announced his intentions to leave Live Golf and return to the PGA Tour today. Will he be eligible to immediately join the PGA Tour? No, the PGA said he would be eligible. He'll return, I should say, in September, which would still make him eligible to play in the FedEx Cup events in the fall. And now the FedEx Cup is basically the PGA's playoffs with a lot with a lot of prize money awarded. But Reid will not be eligible for any of that player equity. That's all the way through 2030. Now, that's similar to the agreement that Brooks Koepka came to earlier this month when he went back from live back to the PGA Tour. Now, the player equity program came about in 2024 really as a way to offer players an incentive to stay with the PGA. Now, as opposed to going live to live for a number of players when they've already handed out roughly a billion dollars of player equity to approximately 200 players. That's an average of about five million dollars per player. So not small change here. So maybe Patrick Reid really, really wants to come back. While shifting gears to tennis, last night, Novak Djokovic advanced again at the Australian Open because of an opponent's injury. Yeah, I don't remember the last time I saw this happen on such a such a big game. I mean, this is the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. Lorenzo Musetti ranked fifth in the world on the first two sets against Djokovic. Then early in this third set, he kind of pulled up lame while going for a ball, took an injury timeout that worked on his thigh. He tried to go for a couple more games and then he had to retire due to injury. Now, he clearly was not able to move well at all at the end there. So Djokovic will advance after not even winning a set there. He said afterwards he was lucky this time. Now, he'll face Yannick Sinner in the semifinals in a couple of days. Sinner beat eighth ranked American Ben Shelton yesterday or earlier earlier this morning in straight sets to advance. So tonight, or actually it's going to be earlier tomorrow morning. The women's semifinals will take place. It'll be number one. Arena Sabalenka against 12th ranked Alina Svitolina. And then at that'll be at 330 a.m. at 5 a.m., sixth ranked American Jessica Pagula will face fifth ranked Alina Repikina. So I've been really working on the pronouncing those names here. I hope you can tell it was a lot of effort to get this. They'll just roll off the tongue. A couple of years. Well, Dave, as always, thanks for joining us. Thank you, Tiff. And that's all for today's news. For on the clock coverage, visit us at NTD dot com slash live or download our NTD app. Thanks for tuning in. I'm Tiffany Meyer. Good night.